# pixel

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈpɪk.səl/ · frequency rank #10,909

## Definitions
1. One of the tiny dots that make up the representation of an image in a computer's memory.
2. One of the squares that make up a work of pixel art or a zoomed-in image in a computer.
3. A unit of measure used in screen displays, resolutions, and similar visual media that represents either linear measure or area.

## Etymology
pix (“pictures”), + el(ement); often taken to be a blend of “picture” and “element”. The ⟨x⟩ stems from the abbreviation pics being sometimes also written as pix, which has been in use since the 1880s. First attested in 1965.

## Easily confused with
- **pixie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pixel-vs-pixie)
- **pie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pie-vs-pixel)
- **Pil** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pil-vs-pixel)
- **pix** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pix-vs-pixel)
- **pipe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pipe-vs-pixel)
- **pile** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pile-vs-pixel)
- **pine** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pine-vs-pixel)
- **pill** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pill-vs-pixel)
- **pier** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pier-vs-pixel)
- **peel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/peel-vs-pixel)
- **pike** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pike-vs-pixel)
- **pies** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pies-vs-pixel)
- **pied** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pied-vs-pixel)
- **piet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/piet-vs-pixel)
- **panel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/panel-vs-pixel)
- **pipes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pipes-vs-pixel)
- **piper** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/piper-vs-pixel)
- **piles** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/piles-vs-pixel)
- **Patel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/patel-vs-pixel)
- **pines** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pines-vs-pixel)

## Common misspellings (7)
`ipxel`, `piexl`, `pixell`, `pixle`, `pixxel`, `ppixel`, `pxiel`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/pixel